Evanescent
by ChocolateMarshmallows
Summary: As the youngest director of LN Group, Karin was unofficially named the future chairwoman of the corporation, a matter which she honestly didn't give a damn about. Then a chance encounter with a silver haired executive leads to one hot night, threatening to change her everything. A year later, the two meet up to discuss the aftermath of their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm procrastinating. I know (don't kill me) ; ; ****Chicken Princess is still in the works...as it has been for the last, what, 3 months? (eyes shift to side) **

**But on the other hand, new story! (yayyy) This one will probably shift back and forth from the aftermath to the very beginning of their relationship. So we can slowly figure out what the fuck went wrong and exactly how irreparable the damage is. Without further ado, I present to you _Evanescent_!**

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**_After - _**_New York City_

It had been a peaceful, tiring day.

Karin sat at her favorite window seat of the cafe, waiting for her sister to arrive. Blowing gently at her black coffee for fear of staining her dress, she closed her eyes and tried to block out the day's worries. It seemed as if everyday, something different goes wrong with the contract, whether it be lack of funding, workforce, food, or coffee in her system…

Gingerly, she ran a hand through her long ink black bob, head already throbbing at the reminder of her current issues. Her job wasn't simply to just manage the marketing affairs of her grandmother's company - in reality, she not only had to manage the corporation's marketing resources and activities, but also to act as the unofficial figurehead and director that her employees looked up to. Her image was her everything. She stood and slipped her feet fully into her black pumps, stalking to the counter in her red backless Emilio Pucci dress. Somehow, she managed to pull off the ruched, skin tight dress while staying true to her classy New York director's image.

Success always had these materialistic perks. But these days, she couldn't find much enjoyment in her extravagant wardrobe. In fact, there wasn't much she enjoyed doing these days at all. As she sat back down, she stared as her eyes caught something white and glistening outside the window.

_The first snow._

Ironic, isn't it, that she couldn't even find the energy to admire what she would have given the world to see as a child, she mused quietly to herself.

"Can I join you?"

Her whole body froze at the sound of the familiar baritone of his voice. Slowly, she turned to look into the viridian eyes of none other than Hitsugaya Toshiro himself. He stood over her in a grey suit and a long overcoat, hair messily windswept, shoulders covered in small flakes of snow.

Karin's face immediately donned a smiling mask that was slightly too tight at the corners of her eyes. "And to what should I owe this pleasure, _Mr. Hitsugaya_?" She drawled as she gestured at the seat facing her with a little wave. She would play along as the clown, if that was the performance he wanted from her.

Toshiro took a long drag of his cigarette as he sat down. "The signing with Crowne Hotels- was it your idea?"

She smirked. "Oh? Has my work been not up to your standards, ?" Her casual tone held a menacing edge as she bit out his name. "Or is there another reason for this sudden visit after- how long has it been now? I can't even recall..." She stroked her chin as she pretended to think. "3 weeks, I believe?"

"You don't look so well." He took in her hollowed cheeks and slightly sharper than normal collarbones, sharp eyes lingering disapprovingly at the low scalloped neckline of her dress. "Hasn't Yuzu been feeding you?"

Karin crossed her legs, letting her skirt ride up higher along her thighs. She gave him another fake, bright smile. "Whatever do you mean, _taicho_?" His old nickname tasted bitter on her tongue now. "I'll tell Yuzu you asked. She'd be very flattered for your attention."

"Stop it, Karin. Just stop it." His eyes had taken on a hard edge as she voiced her lines like a puppet. The puppet he had turned her into.

"I don't know what you mean," Karin drawled smoothly.

Hitsugaya took another long drag of his cigarette. The chatter of the surrounding patrons filled up his silence. He took his time breathing out the smoke of his cigarette, then looked up to meet her eyes. "It's so funny, isn't it? Last year we also saw the first snow together, just like this." He gestured at the falling flakes outside the window. "Funny how things change."

"Hilarious."

"I'll be leaving soon. For Japan," he said quietly, watching as he caught the dark haired woman's attention for the first time in 3 weeks.

"Oh? A vacation?"

"I don't know how long I'll be gone." He pretended to look outside the window as he gauged Karin's reaction. "Could be 5 weeks, 5 months, or 10 years."

"When are you leaving?" Karin asked, face impassive.

"In a week. I've been appointed at the Tokyo branch." Karin's eyes lost the odd smiley look for the first time that evening. Toshiro's sharp gaze watched as she visibly swallowed.

"I'm sure you'll be amazing. You don't even need me to wish you luck."

"Is that what you think?" Toshiro eyes burned brighter, searing through her facade. Then he laughed softly, a bitter sound, as he finally understood. "Are you really so eager for me to disappear?"

Karin paused for a fraction of a second before she spoke. "I'm afraid I'm no longer in any place to desire or lament what you choose to do, Mr. Hitsugaya."

"Karin."

She bit her bottom lip as her name rolled off his tongue too smoothly, too f_amiliarly_. "One word, Karin. Just one word from you...and I'll stay." Toshiro stood up to leave, cerulean eyes boring into hers, trapping her, breaking her all over again. She quickly looked away, quietly listening to the chiming of the door bell as it opened and closed with a finality that tore down her walls.

Her hands clenched at her dress, now sweat soaked. Her head turned upward toward the faded red bricks of the rustic ceiling as she blinked rapidly to hold back her tears.

He wanted to break her heart all over again.

"Karin? Are you all right? I saw Toshiro on the way here-" Karin turned around, her teary eyes meeting the warm chocolate colored orbs of her sister. "Oh, Karin." Yuzu drew her into a hug just as Karin's mask finally cracked, face contorting unseen into Yuzu's black coat.

All she needed right now was Yuzu's embrace for the next five minutes.

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_**A/N: I accidentally uploaded the wrong file...two times... Trust me to screw something like that up .**_

_**Anyways, this story will be top priority right now - if you like it, please leave a comment. If you hate it, please tell me. Any kind of criticism is welcome c:**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey peoples! It's only been (gasp) 3 DAYS since you've heard from me? Is the world ending? Or has she gone on a Bleach marathon to catch up on the last half a year of updates? Or is it the reruns of Ichimaru's death that has her missing him a bit too much? Well, probably all of them. The fact of the matter is, I mixed this file up with chapter 1, so please excuse the glitches. **

**Remember to r&r for faster updates!**

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_**Before**_

_1 year ago_

She was finishing up the last of her paperwork.

Just a little more effort, a few more swigs of her coffee, and a little more of her rapidly dissipating brainpower - and she could leave the dank, stuffy office she had been holed up in for 76 hours straight. _And counting. _When was the last time she wasn't oxygen deprived? 2 days ago? She couldn't remember, the haze in her brain swallowing up whatever was left of her memory. It was a damned near miracle she was even breathing.

Sighing, Karin drew back her arms back carefully to stretch out the kinks in her throbbing neck and shoulders, wincing as her body made various noises that did not sound human-like in the slightest . "Ugh," she mumbled intelligently, as her head thumped onto her desk, her neck now as supportive as a pillar of cotton candy. _Thunk. Thunk. _Her brain needed to wake up, asap, unless she wanted to earn another hour long lecture from her grandmother. Perhaps a few clonks to the head will do the trick…

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. _

Damned paperwork. Whatever god out there dominating her life was a sick sod.

_Thunk. Thunk-_

"May I ask for what reason you are punishing yourself in such a manner, Ms. Kurosaki?"

Karin raises her head wearily, a piece of paper stuck to her forehead. "...inexpressible euphoria?"

Shinji snorted, hand on a hip, gesturing at the sight before him with his teacup. "You should be in a commercial for cocaine. The before _and_ after."

"Ah, but I was born this way. Raccoon eyes and all." She slapped the offensive paper away sloppily, revealing a large red spot smack dab in the center of her forehead.

Shinji took a delicate sip from his tea, letting the mess- no, _avalanche_ of papers, fountain pens, and various assortments of crumpled paper sink in. "You look like a disaster," he said bluntly. "When was the last time you came out of this room?"

Glancing over Shinji's impeccably tailored silver suit and matching skinny tie, Karin's mouth quirked up into a slight curve. It would be the day when her grandmother's company goes bankrupt that Shinji looks anything less than pristine. "Thanks. You're looking pretty good yourself, marketing director."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Quit mocking me. Where's Ichimaru and Kira? One would _think_ that the director and assistant director of 3rd Division would actually help out the other assistant director with a bit of his own paperwork."

"Off causing chaos somewhere? Who knows?" When it came to her scarily smiley director, Karin could do nothing but roll her eyes heavenward. The man had a habit of brushing off his paperwork, but when it truly mattered, Ichimaru was more than competent. _Scarily_ competent. Usually she had Kira to take the other half of the work, though... Karin gazed dully at the two stacks of papers, albeit thinner than an hour before, to her side.

"That might be an accurate assumption..." Shinji muttered, sipping at his tea absently, past antics of the third division director coming to mind.

"Whaddyou want, Shinji? Or does witnessing my pain somehow give you thrills you won't attain anywhere else?" Since when did she start slurring her words? Maybe paperwork really was as poisonous as Matsumoto claimed it to be.

"Everyone knows Kurosaki Karin is the true workhorse around the third division, anyway," Shinji said, shaking his head. "I envy Ichimaru sometimes. Ever since the old woman insisted on promoting Hiyori to co-asisstant director, life has been hard on me and Momo." He sighed, exaggerating his pain.

"Not getting any sympathy from me...stupid trees," Karin muttered darkly as she accidentally put a bit too much strength into her last signature, stabbing a hole through the document, meaning she'd have to start...all over again… "Fuck this _paper_."

Raising an eyebrow, Shinji continued to sip at his extra strongly caffeinated tea. "You are not okay right now. Have you thought of taking a break?"

She gave him a look like he'd sprouted a second head. "A break?"

"Yes, Karin, we humans do need rest sometime, in contrast to popular opinion. Sleep, too."

"But I'll be done soon." Karin glanced down at the remaining stack. "You go on ahead. I'm just gonna push through the rest of this."

Shinji sighed, shaking his head. "How can someone so smart be so stupid? I swear, one of these days, you'll die of overwork and lack of oxygen."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go bother Hiyori or something," Karin said noncommittally, not even bothering to look up.

"What a wonderful idea." Shinji stalked toward her door. "Don't die while I'm gone."

"I'll try."

Shinji shot her a serious look before he left, purposefully leaving her door wide open.

"Allrighty," she muttered to herself as she tackled the tenth to last report, "Here we go."

Taking another swig of coffee, she got ready to get down to business. _Seriously_ this time.

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_**A/N: This is the result of severe procrastination and a bucket of ice cream...Before I regret it please give me some helpful thoughts and critique! Next chappy will be up as** _**long as yall keep me invested, I promise**_. **So. REVIEW PLEASE? I'm on the edge of my seat to see what you guys have to say. C:**_


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